Theatre credits include: The Empress (RSC/Lyric Hammersmith);Out West and A Doll’s House (Lyric Hammersmith); Lions And Tigers (Wanamaker Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe); Hobson’s Choice (Manchester Royal Exchange), Red Dust Road (National Theatre Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival); A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (Hull Truck Theatre); Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe –Dramaturg); Anita and Me (Birmingham Rep); Love N Stuff (Theatre Royal Stratford East); The Empress (Royal Shakespeare Company); Wah! Wah! Girls – A British Bollywood Musical (Sadler’s Wells); Mindwalking (Bandbazi Theatre); Great Expectations (Watford Palace Theatre/English Touring Theatre); Meet The Mukherjees (Bolton Octagon Theatre); White Boy (National Youth Theatre/Soho Theatre); Sugar Mummies (Royal Court Theatre); Gladiator Games (Sheffield Crucible Theatre); Hobson’s Choice (Young Vic); Fragile Land (Hampstead Theatre); Inside Out (Clean Break); Sanctuary, Brecht’s The Good Woman Of Setzuan and The Waiting Room (National Theatre); Skeleton (Soho Theatre); A River Sutra (Indoza). 

Headshot by Oscar May

Paul Hunter is the writer, and is the company, of Would You Bet Against Us?

Debbie Isitt is a BAFTA and EMMY award winning writer and director of film, television and theatre. She trained as an actor and toured the world with her award winning theatre company Snarling Beasties.

Her first cinema film Nasty Neighbours (2000) won huge international acclaim. Debbie adapted Jacqueline Wilson’s The Illustrated Mum for Channel 4, winning

a BAFTA and two International EMMY’s for best adaptation. Debbie’s hit comedy cinema film Confetti (20th Century Fox) was nominated for a British Comedy Award in 2006.

More recently Debbie has created a hugely successful film franchise by writing and directing a series of blockbuster Christmas films; Nativity!, Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger, Nativity 3: Dude Where’s My Donkey?, and Nativity Rocks!. All major box office hits in the UK. Debbie’s latest film Christmas on Mistletoe Farm premieres globally this Christmas on Netflix.

Debbie will receive an honorary (Doctor of Letters) degree in January from Warwick University in honour of her services to the industry.

Debbie is delighted to be returning to The Rep with her much-loved production of NATIVITY! The Musical and says “it feels like coming home”.

Dedication
This year’s production of NATIVITY! The Musical is dedicated to Debbie’s Dad Peter Isitt who tragically passed away from covid during the pandemic. Pete was always front and centre of every audience for Debbie’s work and was Nativity’s biggest fan. There will be a front row seat and a star in the sky for every performance this Christmas. Sparkle and shine Dad.

Richard Thomas is an Olivier Award-winning Composer. He is the composer on The Covid-19 Variations.

Iqbal Khan is an Associate Director of Birmingham Rep, an Associate Artist of Box Clever Theatre Company, and the Artistic Director of the 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.

He has worked extensively with the RSC, as well as directing for opera and classical music events. Credits include East is East (Birmingham Rep, National Theatre), Tartuffe (Birmingham Rep, with RSC), Otello, The Wildman of the West Indies and Shakespeare at The Bowl. He has directed in Paris, Japan (awarded a year long prestigious fellowship, based in Tokyo), had recent residencies and delivered lectures at Michigan State, La Fayette, Nanjing, and was the 2019 Michael Douglas Visiting Artist at UC Santa Barbara. . His production of Tartuffe at the RSC was broadcast on BBC 4 in 2023, and can now be watched on BBC iPlayer. Most recently, Iqbal’s work can be seen in Silence at Tara Arts and Animal Farm at the Octagon Theatre.